looking for a $120 USD mechanical keyboard

[justanotherenthusiast]

I'm looking for a backlit mechanical keyboard, preferably with red or blue backlights and brown or blue switches. Im also looking for USB and audio passthroughs, and palm rests are optional. Does anyone have suggestions for a high quality keyboard? I've read reviews of the G710+ but I heard there problems with the keycaps breaking. I thought about the k70 but there are a bunch of reviews talking about the backlight problems (and it doesn't audio passthrough).
To be clear, I'm not ruling these keyboards out unless there are serious problems with them that a lot of people have

 

[DarkSable]

You're going to have a LOT better luck finding a plain old mechanical keyboard with the exact switches you want without worrying about the bling of it - and it will be very well built and easily fit in your price range. Heck, you should probably be able to find a backlit keyboard with blues for $100 easily; Rosewell even has one with 2 USB 2.0 ports for just $90. The CM Storm Quickfire rapid is a backlit keyboard with blues for $80 that's built very well... but it's tenkeyless, which is icky.

If you have the money and time to spare, $130 gets you a Tesoro Duandal Ultimate G1NL, which is exactly what you're looking for. That same $130 would also buy you a Razer Blackwidow Ultimate, which is a great keyboard and has most of the features you want, but with green backlighting.

 

[byza]

I'd look at the Gigabyte Osmium. I think the version with brown switches has white backlighting while the red swtiches have blue LEDS. It is full size, macro keys, volume and light intensity controls, USB 3.0 passthough as well as headphone and mic passthrough.

 

[justanotherenthusiast]

thanks for the the input. i was fishing around and i was wondering if i should spend a bit more and get one of these:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16823830013&nm_mc=KNC-GoogleAdwords&cm_mmc=KNC-GoogleAdwords-_-pla-_-Gaming+Keyboards-_-N82E16823830013&gclid=CjwKEAjwnNqgBRDdgOitrZPj6yYSJACM86tDdavjj8raP40d8X8L4lWeiA-lgLw0dJGqDt3gz74xaBoCmAHw_wcB

I havent seen too many reviews of this board but of the ones ive read, they're all really good.
ill be sure to search these keyboards and if i have anymore questions ill be sure to ask

Update: someone told me that the software for rosewill's keyboard is atrocious

 

[byza]

DAS make excellent keyboards, but that KB doesn't have blacklighting or audio passthrough if those are features you really want. I usually recommend anything from Ducky, DAS, Cooler Master or the Corsair K70 or K95, Gigabyte Osmium or the Logitech G710+. The BlackWidow with Cherry switches is ok too but i'm not sure about their new Razer switches.

 

[justanotherenthusiast]

i think im more big on robust build quality and sexiness more than anything, but having usb, backlights, or audio will be icing on the cake. so, adding that in mind, what would you personally prefer?
also what is the reason why you would recommend the products you specified above? (just wondering)

 

[byza]

I did a lot of research before buying my keyboard and those are the KB's and brands that consistently reviewed well and are known for good build quality. The other mechanical KB's by Corsair aren't fully mechanical and use membrane for some keys so I don't recommend them. Also I like each brand as the focus seems a little different. Ducky and DAS usually have simple looking KB's with excellent build quality. CM have great variety in switches and good tenkeyless or other non-standard forms. The K70 is probably the most popular mechanical KB on the market, and it is for a reason. The Osmium is very feature rich for the price.

I'm in Aus so my options were a bit limited, also I wanted red switches which aren't as easy to get as brown and blue. I've got the Osmium and it's been a great keyboard. It's very comfortable and I haven't had any problems with it. With the wrist rest it does take up a lot of space though. If I had the option I probably would have gone for a K70 because I really like the look of them but they weren't available to me.

 

[justanotherenthusiast]

i think im leaning toward the das or the gigabyte

 

[DarkSable]

DAS make excellent keyboards, but that KB doesn't have blacklighting or audio passthrough if those are features you really want. I usually recommend anything from Ducky, DAS, Cooler Master or the Corsair K70 or K95, Gigabyte Osmium or the Logitech G710+. The BlackWidow with Cherry switches is ok too but i'm not sure about their new Razer switches.

You've got this one, but just FYI, the new razer switches are supposed to be very, very good. Not sure about durability, but they claim to be equal to Cherry MX switches, so...

 

[byza]

DAS make excellent keyboards, but that KB doesn't have blacklighting or audio passthrough if those are features you really want. I usually recommend anything from Ducky, DAS, Cooler Master or the Corsair K70 or K95, Gigabyte Osmium or the Logitech G710+. The BlackWidow with Cherry switches is ok too but i'm not sure about their new Razer switches.

You've got this one, but just FYI, the new razer switches are supposed to be very, very good. Not sure about durability, but they claim to be equal to Cherry MX switches, so...

Yeah they are supposed to feel really nice, but I just don't feel they've been on the market long enough to really know if they've got problems yet.

 

[justanotherenthusiast]

ive tried out the razer keyboards at my local store, but i havent been able to really compare them side by side (well) with another board